


A Blind Goddess

by apocrypha73



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Guilt, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Post-Episode: s03e21-22 Zero Hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11689575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apocrypha73/pseuds/apocrypha73
Summary: While on a fuel stop on a faraway planet, the Ghost crew find out there's a colony of lasat refugees living nearby. Needless to say, they decide to pay them a visit, but there's only one problem: Kallus is travelling with them this time, and this encounter could turn out to be very dangerous for him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on Episode 1x16 of Stargate SG-1, “Cor-Ai”. I haven’t actually rewatched the episode to write this and it’s been a loooong time since I saw it, so don’t expect the fic to follow the storyline very closely. I mostly took the basic idea and run away with it.
> 
> My eternal gratitude to the people who keep up wordreference.com. This fic would not be possible without you.

 

“All right, everyone, we’re making a quick stop to refuel and then we go back home.”

Hera’s voice sounded through the PR system at the same time the Ghost pulled out of hyperspace with a little shake. Lifting his gaze from the crates he was piling up, Zeb tried to peek through the viewport, but it was way too high on the wall for him to see anything  from the bottom of the cargo bay. He exchanged a look with Kallus, who was helping him take inventory of the weapons they had just stolen from an imperial facility.

“Any idea where we are?”

“My sense of direction is good, Zeb, but not _that_ good,” Kallus replied with a smirk. “Judging by the time we’ve been in hyperspace, I’d say we’re still somewhere in the Outer Rim. But other than that, I have no clue.”

Zeb turned to the catwalk, where Kanan and Ezra were doing their lightsaber training.

“Hey, kid!” he called. “Can you see what planet it is?”

Ezra took a quick peek without breaking his series of moves. “Sorry, Zeb, doesn’t look familiar.”

“So, another backwater rathole it is,” Zeb murmured. “Our favorite kind of place.”

“Exactly.” Hera’s cheerful voice made both Zeb and Kallus turn around to face her. They had barely noticed the landing, but there she was, already out of the cockpit. Neither Kanan nor Ezra, however, seemed the least bit surprised by her presence. “Small, away from the main trade routes and insignificant enough to be ignored by the Empire. Just how we like it.”

“Yeah, and not just us. I’m sure it’ll be full of pirates, smugglers and all sorts of scum,” Kanan added with a worried face. “Do you want me to go with you, Hera?”

“It’s alright, dear, I’m taking Zeb and Kallus as my bodyguards today,” she answered.

Kallus put the datapad with the manifesto on one of the crates before speaking: “Bodyguards? Are you expecting trouble, Captain?”

He didn’t sound wary or intimidated. If anything, Zeb would have sweared he was looking forward to it. The lasat raised an eyebrow at the formality, though. Kallus was still relatively new to the Rebel Alliance, but his reluctance to use Hera’s first name was starting to get ridiculous. Especially considering he had no problem doing it with everyone else. Maybe it was an imperial thing, or perhaps it was pure and simple respect.

“For the last time, Kallus, it’s Hera,” she replied, not unkindly. “And to answer your question: nothing I can’t handle, but I’m tired and I wanna go home as soon as possible, so I’d rather avoid the whole _‘hey, look, a woman alone, I bet she’s an easy target’_ routine. A couple of big boys like you two should be enough to spare me the annoyance. Just stand there and look menacing while I buy the fuel, ok?”

“No problem,” Zeb said as he reached for his bo-rifle.

They followed her down the ramp into the spaceport, although that was quite a generous name for it. It was an open field that had been mowed and more or less flattened so it could be used as a landing platform. On one side there was and a couple of rusty, low buildings that looked like they’d come down if Zeb so much as sneezed on their direction. And that was it. That was the whole ‘spaceport’.

There were people from every imaginable species milling about, each one looking shadier than the last, but nobody paid them attention. A few thugs here and there eyed Hera with a little more interest, but as soon as they met her escorts’ glare, they quickly looked away.

Zeb turned to Kallus, who had his nose scrunched at the sight.

“What, you don’t like this place?” he poked him in a humorous tone. “Is it too unrefined for your imperial tastes?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve seen worse,” Kallus answered with aplomb. “This rabble doesn’t even seem capable to put up a decent fight, honestly.”

“You sound disappointed.” Zeb squinted at him, and then something clicked in his brain, bringing a smile to his lips. “Karabast, you actually _are_ disappointed. What, the brawl we just had with your former friends wasn’t enough fun for you? Man, you’ve been away from the action for too damn long.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Kallus’ honest answer made him laugh out loud.

Kallus’ work with the Rebellion so far had mainly consisted on telling everything he knew about the Empire and starting a training program for spies, which meant being stationed at the base most of the time. He’d only been sent away on missions with the _Ghost_ crew when his knowledge of the Empire made his presence essential, like the job they’d just done. That was the reason he was currently travelling on the _Ghost_ with them.

Zeb _lived_ for those missions.

And boy, so did Kallus. Zeb hadn’t seen him so giddy since… well, since the last time the two of them fought, probably. They had always created a special kind of energy whenever they went up against one another, but now that they were working together, it was even better. The camaraderie, the way they understood each other without speaking, the certainty that Kallus would have his back in any situation… Zeb had never expected Kallus’ addition to the team to be so effortless, for him to blend so easily with his rebel family. Fighting alongside him felt no different than doing it with Kanan or Sabine.

Except for the way Zeb felt whenever he saw the ex imperial all sweaty and breathless after a fight. That was _definitely_ a Kallus thing only.

Hera interrupted his train of thought by turning her head towards them with a gentle smile, and Zeb couldn’t be more grateful.

“You know, I could put in a good word for you with General Dodonna,” she offered. “I think you’ve been grounded long enough, and we could really use another pair of hands on the _Ghost,_ since Sabine is still in Mandalore and Rex is busy with the pathfinder corps. I mean, if that’s what you want.”

“If you do that, Cap… I mean Hera, I’ll be forever in your debt.”

_That makes two of us_ , Zeb thought.

They went into one of the only two buildings on sight. It was some sort of all-in-one shop, selling everything from ship parts to food. The owner, a greasy bald human with an eyepatch and a chest like a barrel, raised his head when he heard them come in. His expression lightened up when his gaze fell on Zeb.

“My, my,” he greeted them cheerfully. “I didn’t expect you guys to be back for at least another cycle. Didn’t the fair lady Dasha come with you this time?”

The three of them exchanged confused looks, each one silently asking the others if they knew the guy. Zeb frowned and stepped forward. The guy had probably confused him with a wookie or something like that. It wouldn’t be the first time, especially with humans. Some of them wouldn’t be able to tell a rodian from a neimoidian, much less know what a lasat even was.

“Whaddya mean, this time?” he replied, trying not to let his frustration seep into his voice. “We’ve never been here before.”

The man squinted then, leaning forward as if trying to get a better look, his one eye still fixed on Zeb.

“Wait a minute, I don’t think I know you,” he murmured. “And you brought along a twi’lek and a human? Huh. That’s new. Well, it’s none of my business who Masaru sends to get his supplies anyway. The usual order, then?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re not making a lot of sense,” Hera said. “We’re only here to get some fuel for our ship, we don’t know any Masaru.”

“You don’t?” The man scratched his head and then wiped his hand on his apron, before turning to face Zeb again. “So, you’re not with the colony?”

“What colony?”

Zeb’s heart was beating furiously. A suspicion was starting to take form inside his head, one that he didn’t dare hope was right.

“Well, the lasat colony, of course. The folks that live on Tesela,” said the man, pointing to the nearest window. Following the direction of his finger, Zeb saw two moons hanging on the sky, clearly visible even in daylight. One had a bluish color, and the other, the one the man was aiming to, was of a pearly shade of white.

Zeb suddenly felt like the ground had vanished under him.

Still trying to breathe normally, he noticed Kallus had moved to stand right behind his shoulder, silently offering support. Zeb half turned his head and nodded briefly to let him now he was fine, or at least in control. More or less.

Thankfully, Hera decided to take over the conversation.

“Are you saying there’s a lasat colony living on one of your moons?”

“Yeah, they arrived a few years ago,” the man explained. “Could’ve stayed here, but they preferred to settle on the moon ‘cause they didn’t want company. I think they were running away form the imps or something, but then who isn’t, right? They drop by once or twice every season, though. Sell some stuff, buy supplies. They don’t mingle much, really. Hey, maybe they’re your distant cousins, big guy. Ha! Can you imagine?”

Zeb took a deep, shaky breath. Hera put her hand on his forearm as Kallus did the same on his left shoulder. He felt grateful for their presence and their gentle support, but he couldn’t stop the wave of emotion that swept over him at the idea of finding more survivors from his home planet. More lasats that he could lead to their real home in Lira San, to live in peace among their people.

“Yeah,” he replied with an unsteady voice. “Actually, I can.”

 

***

 

The news were received with quite a lot of excitement, especially on Ezra’s part. Kanan took it with much more dignity, but his smile was genuine when he clapped Zeb’s shoulder and told him how glad he was.

The three of them were sitting around the dejarik table, while Kallus had chosen to stand a little apart. Not too much, not enough that the others would notice there was something going on, but he needed the space to think.

He was happy for Zeb, of course. Not just that, he was _inmensely_ relieved to know that there had been enough survivors of the Lasan massacre to form a community in this Force-forsaken corner of the galaxy —not to mention the existence of Lira San, of which Zeb had just informed him—. However, he wasn’t so sure how he felt about the possibility of having to face them.

No, that wasn’t right. Kallus knew how he felt, he just didn’t want to call it what it was.

He was scared.

He knew that if he had to look those people in the eye, the shame would kill him. His guilt about that battle—and so many other things he had done for the Empire, although Lasan was clearly the worst of them—was like a stone hanging from his neck every day. He tried not to let it show because he didn’t want the others to comfort him or, Force forbid it, tell him he was forgiven. Kallus knew he wouldn’t be able to stand that. It was better to let them think he had pushed it to the back of his mind, where it didn’t bother him on a daily basis.

Most of the time, he could deal with it just fine. But suddenly, it had stopped being a memory to become a physical, tangible reality.

Kallus turned his gaze to Zeb. The lasat had a big smile on his face as he was listening to Ezra’s excited ranting, his green eyes shining with amusement. He chuckled at something the kid said and his broad shoulders shook with it, his head tipped back a little. He looked so happy it made Kallus’ heart ache.

_Stop thinking about yourself, you idiot_ , he thought. _Whatever happens on that moon, it will be worth it just to see him like this_.

Hera entered the common room, effectively silencing the conversation. “I’ve informed the base of our delay,” she said. “I’ve told them to expect us a few days late, just in case. I know this shouldn’t take us so long, but considering how things usually go for us, I prefer to be on the safe side.”

“But Hera, all we need to do is tell the lasats how to get to Lira San, right?” Ezra huffed. “I mean, they must have their own ships if they visit this planet regularly, we don’t have to actually take them there. We go there, say hello, give them the coordinates, bye, nice to meet you, have a safe trip. How could we possibly screw that up?” His gaze fell on Kallus then. “Oh.”

Kanan let out a tired sigh. Even with the mask covering the top half of his face, the others could practically feel him rolling his eyes. “You had to say it, didn’t you?”

“Ah… Yeah, about that,” said Zeb, getting to his feet. He took a few steps in Kallus’ direction, suddenly serious again. “I think it’ll be better if you stay in the ship while we do this, Kal.”

Kallus tried not to let that hurt. After all, it was a exactly what he wanted, right? He wouldn’t have to meet the refugees he had displaced, the families and friends of the people he had killed. He was relieved.

But at the same time, it was a stark reminder of the barrier that would forever exist between him and Zeb. They might be comrades now, even friends perhaps, but the ghost of the things he had done to Zeb’s people would always stop them from getting any closer. That was a part of his past that he could never undo, no matter how much he wanted to.

“I agree,” Kallus answered matter-of-factly, swallowing his disappointment. “There is always the possibility of someone recognizing me, and if that happens you’ll never get them to trust you. You can’t take that chance”.

Zeb rubbed the back of his head, looking away as if embarassed, although Kallus couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.

“Yeah, sure, that too,” the lasat mumbled. “But I was rather thinking ‘bout what they’d do to _you_ if they find out who you are. Better not risk it, pal. It wouldn’t be pretty.”

Kallus nodded, crossing his arms. “Ah, I see. Well, I can’t say I blame them, but thank you for your concern. I’ll stay in the ship and make sure it’s ready for departure, if Chopper doesn’t mind keeping me company.”

The droid replied his agreement with a string of beeps that was a lot nicer than what the rest of the crew usually got from him. Both Zeb and Ezra gave him a dirty look.

“So, it’s settled, then,” Hera said, before any of them started complaining about Chopper’s favoritism. It was an argument they all had heard too many times already. “Everyone, get ready for take off. Let’s go say hi to Zeb’s cousins.”

 

***

 

It was a very short ride to Tesela. Hera had Chopper scan for life forms as soon as they were close enough and led the ship towards the place where they concentrated the most. Or, more accurately, to the only place where there was a significant amount of it. The moon wasn’t exactly overflowing with life.

“It appears to be mostly ice-covered rock,” Hera said, looking at the readings. “Not a very friendly place to start a new home. They must have been really desperate to stay away from everybody.”

“And I don’t think they’ll take unexpected visits very kindly,” Kanan added, worry coloring his voice. “Are our shields up, just in case?”

“Way ahead of you, love,” she replied sweetly as she maneuvered the _Ghost_ into the moon’s atmosphere.

As expected, when they approached their destination two warning shots exploded on either side of the cockpit. The blast shook the whole ship, almost knocking anyone who wasn’t strapped to their seats out of balance.

“Seems they’re not messing around!”, Hera shouted, leaning forward over the controls. She activated the comm. “Tesela, this is the rebel ship _Ghost_. We are not hostile, I repeat, we are not hostile! Cease fire!”

Another shot was the only answer. This time, though, Hera was ready for it and she dodged it easily. She started a series of maneuvers to make their trajectory less predictable.

“Tesela, this is Captain Hera Syndulla of the Rebel Alliance!!”, she insisted. “We’re requesting permission to land! Please cease fire!!”

No answer came through the speakers. More blaster shots forced her to feint and spin wildly. Somehow she was still managing to get increasingly closer to the settlement they had detected, halfway up a mountain that loomed over a barren plain. There was only white as far as the eye could see.

“How can anyone live in a place like this?” Ezra wondered aloud. “What do they eat?”

“If we manage lo land in one piece, you can ask them yourself”, said Kanan. “Hera, left!!”

She took a sharp turn in the direction he had pointed to, narrowly avoiding another blaster shot that exploded right where the ship had been half a second before. “Thank you, Kanan.”

“Ah, Karabast!!”

Zeb unbuckled his seatbelt and moved over to the console, a stormy look in his eyes under a frown that would have made his friends step out of his way had there been more room in the cockpit.

“Tesela, this is Captain Garazeb Orrelios of the Lasan Honor Guard! Cease fire inmediately!!”

His booming voice carried an authority that no one in that ship had ever heard from him before. Kallus couldn’t help the completely inappropiate shiver that run down his spine, and he thanked all the gods that ever existed for the facial hair that covered most of his blush.

The attack stopped so abruptly Kallus heard his own pulse in the following silence.

“Well, that’s better,” Zeb grunted as he returned to his seat.

Suddenly, the comm cracked and came alive with an incoming transmission.

“ _Ghost_ , you have permission to land. Sending coordinates now.”

They all exhaled a collective sigh of relief.

“Okay then,” said Hera. “Here we go.”

 

***

 

Zeb was the first to walk down the ramp. He took his time, making himself clearly visible for the benefit of the lasat warriors that were surely aiming their weapons at the ship, hidden from view.

He took a deep breath. It was cold there, but nothing like Bahryn. Sunlight reached the surface of the moon with enough force to make it livable, although Zeb imagined it could get really nasty at night or during a storm. Still, it was quite an improvement from the geonosian moon. 

Although Zeb would have chosen the blizzard and the monsters in a second, if it meant he didn’t have to leave Kallus behind. Damn, he missed him already.

It was just his luck that he had to fall in love with the one person in the whole galaxy who could never be in the same room with his people without it ending in disaster.

Just as he had expected, as soon as he appeared on the ramp the lasat warriors  stepped out of their hiding places. There were four of them, two males and two females, wearing leather armor and white capes that they had pulled back to allow freedom of movement. They were carrying bo-rifles very similar to the one Zeb had strapped to his back.

One of the soldiers stepped forward, a big lasat about the same age as Zeb, with a massive chest and a full purple beard that he was probably very proud of. He looked vaguely familiar. Zeb struggled to remember if he had served in the Honor Guard under his command.

“Siros? That’s your name, isn’t it?”

“Captain Orrelios, it’s wonderful to see you alive,” answered the other lasat with a smile. “I’m honored that you remember me.”

Siros set his rifle aside to clasp his hands together and nod his head in a formal salute, that Zeb returned in the same way.

“Allow me to introduce our captain,” he said, turning his head towards the younger of the two females. She was a formidable lady, almost as tall as Zeb, with broad shoulders, strong legs and a stern face that clearly said _‘I don’t care who you are, you’lI have to prove yourself to me before I decide to trust you’_. Her fur had a beautiful lavender color, with stripes of a deeper purple tracing a graceful pattern along her neck and arms. A long braid of purple hair fell from the top of her head to the middle of her back.

“This is my niece, Captain Dasha Nekaros,” Siros continued in a proud tone. “After what happened on Lasan, she gathered what whas left of our army and formed the New Honor Guard. She kept us organized and focused through the whole ordeal so we could lead as many citizens as possible to our new home here.”

Zeb looked at her, genuinely impressed. She couldn’t be more than thirty five now, almost a teenager by lasat standards. She must have been barely a child when she took command of a bunch of broken, traumatized soldiers and kept them from scattering all around the galaxy to drown in sorrow and guilt, like he almost did.

Talk about being born a leader.

“That’s quite remarkable,” he said, saluting her respectfully. “So, New Honor Guard? Does that mean some members of the royal family survived?”

“Unfortunately, no,” she replied. Her voice was deep and soothing. “But we are still the protectors of the people, and that’s just as important to me.”

Zeb nodded, trying to push away the pain as that last sliver of hope flickered and died. He turned his head to look at the _Ghost_ , where Hera, Kanan and Ezra were waiting at the top of the ramp. He made a sign for them to approach and made the proper introductions.

“We should head back to the city. The wind is gaining strength and it will be night soon.” Captain Nekaros turned around and started walking towards an outcropping. “Follow us.”

Hera closed the ship and they went after the soldiers. The lasats had two speeders hidden behind the snow-covered rock, thankfully big enough to accommodate all of them. It was a short ride, but mostly vertical.

“The gate to the city is about halfway up the mountain,” Siros told Zeb and Hera. Kanan and Ezra were in the other speeder, with Captain Nekaros and the male lasat warrior. “We won’t be long.”

“The gate?”, asked Hera. “Not the city itself?”

“The city is _inside_ the mountain,” he answered. “The weather here isn’t very friendly, so we kind of had to build it that way. It’s quite impressive, if I say so myself.”

“I can imagine,” she replied kindly. “I didn’t know your people were so good at engineering, Zeb.”

“We’re resilient, Hera. We adapt.”

“That’s right,” Siros agreed. “Great, here we are.”

The speeders stopped on a platform about three hundred meters from the ground. There was a huge metallic door embedded in the side of the mountain, with a keyboard on the left. Captain Nekaros entered a code and the panel lifted.

“Welcome to New Lasan,” said Siros with a smile.

They door gave way to a huge cavern brimming with activity. Zeb saw three old cargo ships on one side, their ramps open and a few lasats loading crates on them. There were some maintenance droids moving around, and more people carrying crates to the ships from another big gate excavated in the rock.

“That’s the entrance to the mines,” Siros explained as they approached the parking area to leave their speeders there. “That’s our source of income: berubian. There isn’t much, but that’s a good thing. It’s enough for us to make a living but too little to attract imperial attention.”

Captain Nekaros shot him a severe look. She didn’t seem too comfortable with him giving them so much information, and honestly, Zeb couldn’t blame her. Even if he was lasat, they were strangers to this people. They could have been imperial spies for all they knew. Between the shopkeeper on the planet and now this, he was surprised the Empire wasn’t knocking on their door already. They may as well advertise their presence with a floating billboard.

“I must leave you now,” she said. “I have other duties to attend to. Siros, take them straight to see the Mayor. No detours, understood? You’ll have time to show them the city once we know the purpose of their visit.”

“Yes, Captain.”

She left with a curt nod, followed by the two other warriors. Siros led Zeb and the others further into the mountain, past the first cave.

They walked through a big corridor excavated in the stone, as wide as an avenue. Other secondary tunnels started from the main one, left and right, all of them well lit and clean. Every lasat they met on their way stopped to stare at them shamelessly, not even trying to hide their curiosity.

“The houses are that way,” Siros explained, completely ignoring his niece’s implicit warning. “And that’s the way to the infirmary and the library. Yes, we have a library. The Mayor said it’s important to preserve our history and our traditions, since we’re all that’s left of the lasat culture, so there you have it. It also doubles as a school, although we don’t have many children right now. But that will change, I hope.”

“It’s amazing.” Ezra gasped, turning his head this way and that like he was trying to look everywhere at once, his mouth hanging open. Zeb felt a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth despite himself. Yeah, he was proud of his people with good reason.

Siros kept explaining things to them as they walked. He told them they had a huge greenhouse where they had managed to grow some seeds they saved from Lasan, using artificial light and the heat generated by the moon’s core. They also had training facilities for the soldiers and warehouses for the berubian and for the supplies they bought with it.

“And then there’s the biggest cavern of all, the Assembly,” Siros continued. “It’s big enough to host the whole colony together. It’s not that impressive, kid, we’re barely a hundred,” he added in reply to Ezra’s awed expression.

“Anyway, we use it as marketplace, town hall, main square… Basically whatever we need at any given moment. That’s where we’re going, by the way. The Mayor’s office is there.”

The Assembly was in fact pretty awesome, despite what Siros had said. It was a rectangular room with the tallest ceiling they had seen so far inside that mountain, which probably gave the place quite the accoustics. Right in the center of it, a statue representing a lasat family of refugees reminded everyone of the struggles they had gone through to get there. Around the statue, a few vendors offered their merchandise from their booths, ranging from homemade food to clothes and weapons.

Zeb took a look around from the entrance of the tunnel they had just come through. To his left and right, the two longer walls had rows of seats carved in the stone forming grandstands, and on the opposite side of the Assembly, in front of him, he saw a door and several windows. That was where Siros lead them.

An older lasat, his back slightly bent and his facial hair completely white, was waiting for them in front of that building. His head perked up when he saw them approach and he smiled.

“Oh, by the Ashla. It was true,” he said, taking a step forward with his eyes set on Zeb. “We thought we were the only ones who had survived. This is wonderful news.”

“Mayor, let me introduce you to Captain Garazeb Orrelios, from our former Honor Guard, and his friends.” Siros’ voice was laced with pride as he made the presentations. “This the Mayor of our city, Masaru Pilvo.”

“Please, come into my office,” said the Mayor. “We can talk more comfortably there. Thank you, Siros, I’ll take it from here.”

Once inside, the Mayor turned to look at Hera, Kanan and Ezra for the first time.

“I can’t thank you enough for this,” he said. “It means a lot that you brought our brother back to us. We are in your debt.”

They exchanged an awkward look, but Zeb spoke before any of them could find a polite way to disenchant the old lasat.

“I’m not here to stay.”

Masaru blinked at him. “You’re not?”

Zeb shook his head slowly. The Mayor seemed to consider this, then gestured for them to take a seat and went to a small table by the wall, where he started filling glasses with water from a jar. He offered them to his guests. “Well, I hope this doesn’t sound rude, son, but in that case, why are you here? This isn’t the kind of place where you just happen to be passing by.”

“I came to bring you this,” Zeb answered, extracting a datachip from one of his pockets. “It contains detailed instructions on how to get to Lira San. You don’t have to stay in this frozen moon anymore if you don’t want. There is another choice.”

“Lira San?” Masaru sounded incredulous, and maybe a little angry. “You came here to bring us an old legend?”

“It’s not a legend. We’ve been there!” Ezra protested. Kanan put a gentle hand on his shoulder, silently asking him to let Zeb carry the conversation. The boy slouched in his seat, looking embarassed.

“Lira San is real. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Zeb continued, firmly meeting the Mayor’s doubtful look. “There are millions of lasats living there. Turns out that’s where our species originated. So yeah, it’s our real home and now we know how to get to it safely.”

“If that’s true, why didn’t you stay there?”

“Because my place is with the Rebellion. I have a job to do.”

The old lasat let out a drawn out sigh, shaking his head. “I don’t know, son. It sounds too good to be true.”

“Look, I’m not gonna try to convince you, ok?”, Zeb replied. “You have all the information in that chip. What you do with it is for you and your people to decide.”

He was feeling more impatient by the moment. This was an important mission for him, and he wanted to do it well, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Kallus waiting in the ship. Every second they spent on that moon was dangerous for him, and all Zeb wanted to do was finish this conversation so they could be on their way.

Masaru gave him a long look, then turned his gaze to the datachip in his hand. With a last shake of his head, he inserted it into the computer and activated it. His crooked fingers hovered over the map while he stared at the brilliant dot that designated the planet with an awed expression.

“Lira San…,” he murmured. “I can’t believe it. This… This could change everything for us.”

Zeb was about to answer when they heard a commotion outside. Suddenly, the door to the office opened and Captain Dasha Nekaros stormed through it, followed by the two other warriors they’d met before. The soldiers were half dragging a bruised and battered man between them, his head bent down and his hands chained behind his back.

Zeb’s stomach dropped. Even if he hadn’t already known who was the only other human currently on Tesela, he would have recognized that blonde hair anywhere. Like in a nightmare, he could do nothing but stare, petrified, as the soldiers dropped Kallus on his knees before the Mayor.

The others were not as paralized. They raised to their feet as if they’d been burned.

“What is the meaning of this?”, Hera exclaimed in her most commanding tone. “That’s a member of my crew. What have you done to him?”

The Mayor stepped forward, his hands open in a placating gesture. “Dasha, what’s happened? Who is this human?”

“You thought we wouldn’t search your ship?” Dasha wasn’t looking at Masaru, but at Hera and the rest of the group. She looked furious, her body tense and her breathing quick. “You thought just ‘cause you had a lasat with you, we would trust you blindly?”

She turned to the Mayor then. “You want to know who this man is? I can tell you. I’ll never forget that face. He was in command of the imperial army the day they destroyed our home. He is the one who slaughtered our people!”

Masaru recoiled in horror, then looked at Kallus, who raised his head like he was answering a question. His labored breathing was the only sound in the room. He had a split lip and a bruise on his left cheek, but the worst thing was the anguish in his eyes. Zeb tried to reach out to him instinctively, but he was stopped by a warning gesture from both soldiers.

Zeb’s eyes met Kallus’, hoping against all hope that this was all a nightmare, willing himself to wake up.

But he didn’t. The scene didn’t dissolve into nothingness, it didn’t go away, no matter how hard he dug his claws into his palms.

Zeb’s greatest fear had just become reality.

And it was all his fault.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I managed to slip an X-Files reference in this chapter (and with that, I just outed myself as a fandom dinosaur :P). There is a little Killjoys reference too, because that show is amazing and has taught me more about character development than anything I’ve ever watched, so I had to pay a little homage.

 

 

There were no jails in New Lasan. Its inhabitants had never needed one, so they hadn’t built it, which left them with very few options as to where to lock Kallus up. In the end, they decided to put him in one of the tool sheds by the mines, with two heavily armed guards by the door.

They pushed him inside without ceremony and the door closed with an ominous clank. Kallus wasted no time in getting rid of his handcuffs, all the while checking his surroundings in search of weak spots that could allow him to escape. He hadn’t had time to learn the city’s layout, but his ISB training had allowed him to estimate they had brought him back almost the same distance than they’d gone in, which meant he had to be very close to the main gate.

There wasn’t much to see, even if he’d had anything more powerful than the single light embedded into the ceiling. The shed was a rectangular room of maybe two meters per three, with crates stacked alongside the walls at different heights. He tried to open the one closer to him, but it was code locked. He did the same on some of the others, just in case, with the same results. The lasats had made sure there was nothing in there that could be even remotely helpful to him.

He’d been there for about half an hour when he heard movement outside his door. He quickly put his hands behind his back and turned to face the entrance, the handcuffs hanging from his fingers and a plan half forming in his mind about knocking out the guards with them and making a run for it.

The dulled sound of voices made him step closer to the door. He heard a female voice that he recognized as the lasat captain of the guard, the one who had captured him. She sounded angry, indignant, like she was barely keeping herself from screaming.

“I can’t believe you! How can you say that? How can you still defend him!? Have you forgotten what he did to us?”

The voice that answered her was too low to make out the words but it was unmistakingly Zeb. He was speaking in a calm, placating tone, but whatever he said, it didn’t do anything to ease her fury. More like the opposite.

“Changed?”, she said with a scoff. “He is an imperial! That scum never change! And you? Accepting him on your team, breaking bread with him, calling him your friend? You are a traitor to your own people!!”

Kallus heard the sound of boots quickly stomping away, and then the panel opened with a woosh and Zeb appeared in the doorway.

His face said it all. That conversation had hit him really hard.

“Oh, please, don’t tell me you’re under arrest too,” Kallus joked. Humor had never been his strong point, his style tending more to bitter sarcasm than real wit, but it was worth the effort only to see the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of Zeb’s mouth.

The door closed and Kallus dropped the pretense of still being shackled, tossing the handcuffs aside on the nearest crate. To his credit, Zeb didn’t even look surprised.

“Relax, I’m just visiting,” he answered. He had a medkit in his hands and he put it next to the discarded handcuffs. “Come on, let me see that face,” he added, opening a tube of bacta cream. “Karabast, you’re a mess.”

“It’s not that bad,” Kallus replied while Zeb carefully applied the medicine. “No offense, but this people have nothing on Thrawn. Is Chopper all right?”

Zeb stopped in his task and pulled back to give him an incredulous look.

“Seriously? That’s your main concern right now? Chopper?”

“They tased him when he was trying to protect me. Of course I’m worried.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Zeb went back to work on Kallus’ injuries. “He’s fine. Hera talked to him a minute ago. He’s pretty angry, though. I wouldn’t want to be one of those soldiers if he ever catches them.”

He kept working in silence. His touch on Kallus’ face felt incredibly delicate for someone so strong, almost like a caress. Standing so close to him, Kallus could feel the warmth radiating from his body and it was starting to make his pulse quicken. He looked away under the pretense of offering Zeb a better access to the bruise on his cheek.

“By the way…,” the lasat said reluctantly after a long moment. “Sorry for getting you into this.”

Kallus turned his head to catch his gaze. “This isn’t your fault, Zeb.”

“Yeah, it is. I should’ve insisted we go back to base and leave you safe in Yavin before coming here. It’s not like we were in a hurry, you know? Lira San isn’t going anywhere.”

“And make the trip to the Outer Rim twice in a row? Are you nuts? The Rebellion can’t afford to spare your crew for such a long time, not to mention the fuel! No, Zeb. You did what you had to do. If this is anybody’s fault, it would be mine.”

“How so?”

Kallus paused. It was difficult to say it out loud.

“Well, I did slaughter your people, didn’t I?”, he finally said in a hush.

Zeb opened his mouth like he was struggling to find an answer to that, but words failed him. He let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over the back of his head like he always did when he was frustrated.

“Look, Alexsandr…”

Kallus interrupted him with a small chuckle that made Zeb raise his gaze in surprise.

“Please,” he said. “I made _my parents_ call me Kallus.”

Alexsandr was his father’s name, and his grandfather’s. He’d never felt like it really belonged to him, and he hated all the expectations that it carried within.

“All right, Kallus it is. Look, everything’s gonna be all right, ya hear me?” Zeb spoke firmly, but it wasn’t too clear if he was trying to convince Kallus or himself. “I’ll defend you in the trial. The others will speak on your behalf, too. You’ll get out of this.”

“I’m sorry, I must have hit my head when the guards shoved me in here, because I think I just heard you say _‘trial’_ instead of _‘firing squad’_.”

Zeb rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Yes, you’re gonna have a trial. A fair one. And since I’m the only lasat around who actually wants you alive by the end of it, I’ll be defending you.”

“Oh,” Kallus replied cautiosly, rubbing a hand over his facial hair. “Well, that’s… great news indeed. I didn’t expect it.”

“This is not the Empire, man. There are laws, and we honor them. You’re not gonna be executed without a trial. Hell, you’re not gonna be executed _at all_ , I’ll make sure of that.”

“But the penalty for war crimes like this is death, isn’t it?”, Kallus asked in a defeated tone.

Zeb stared at him in silence for a moment. Then, very slowly, he nodded.

Kallus shook his head sadly. With slow, tired movements, he sat on a crate and crossed his arms. “It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Zeb, but we have to be realistic here. I _am_ guilty. I don’t think even the best lawyer from Coruscant could get me out of this.”

“The best lawyer from Coruscant doesn’t know shit about lasats. But I do. And I’m gonna take care of this.”

“How?”

Zeb shrugged one shoulder. “Making them see what I see.”

“And what’s that, if I may ask?”

“That you’re not that man anymore, Kal.”

Something hard and painful settled inside Kallus’ chest, making it hard to breathe. He desperately wanted to believe it, he wanted to take that thought and hold on to it like a lifeline.

 “I hope you’re right about me, Zeb,” he replied, voice breaking a little. Dying on that wretched moon didn’t scare him half as much as the idea of disappointing this noble, sweet, giant furball that he called his friend.

Sometimes—more like every day, actually—he marveled at Zeb’s seemingly endless capacity for compassion, wondering how anyone could have suffered so much and still choose to see the good in people. Even in someone who had hurt him before, like himself.

His throat felt suddenly tight with how much he loved him.

Zeb’s expression softened. “Of course I’m right.”

“Well, I have a feeling Captain Nekaros doesn’t agree with you,” Kallus said, gesturing to the door with his head.

 “You heard that, didn’t you?”

“At least her part. It was kind of hard to miss.”

With a tired sigh, Zeb sat down next to Kallus.

“She doesn’t know you like I do. Besides, she’s young. Still sees the galaxy in black and white,” he said. “You know what I mean. Good an evil are neatly separated and never mix with each other. You can move from the ‘good’ box to the ‘evil’ box, but once you’re there you’re doomed forever, there’s no going back. I’m sure you still remember what that felt like, huh?”

“Oh, I do,” said Kallus with a small smile. Zeb’s words had brought him memories of his early years in the Empire, fresh out of the Academy. Arrogant and single minded, but oh so eager to go out there and make the galaxy safe and peaceful. “Sometimes I miss that kind of certainty.”

Zeb didn’t say anything, waiting for him to elaborate. Kallus let out a long breath and stretched his back, feeling every single muscle in his body scream in protest. Damn, but he was exhausted.

“I always wanted to do the right thing, you know?”, he started. “And it used to be so easy to know what that meant. The Empire was good, everybody else was bad. Nice and simple. But then Bahryn happened, and you complicated it all.”

“If you expect me to apologize for that, don’t hold your breath,” Zeb joked, flashing a lopsided smirk in Kallus’ direction. The man huffed a pityful excuse for a laugh.

“No, I’m actually grateful,” he said. “But it was hard. You made me face all the things I had refused to see, and I just… One day I looked at myself and realized I wasn’t a hero. I was the villain. And my biggest, deepest fear is that maybe that’s all I’ll ever get to be. Only the man who killed thousands of innocents in the name of the Empire. I mean… how can I _ever_ make up for that?”

“I dunno. But maybe you’re already on your way. You did a lot of good as Fulcrum, and you’re doing a lot more now, as a rebel,” Zeb answered. “Just don’t give up, okay? Don’t fall for that pessimistic crap. If you start thinking nothing you do will ever be enough, you might as well do nothing at all. And who would that help?”

Kallus blinked, taken by surprise. He had never considered it that way, but Zeb had a point.

“That’s… actually the most sensible thing I’ve heard in a very long time, Zeb.”

The lasat beamed at him. “Yeah? Well, tell that to AP-5 when we get home, will ya?”

The man tried to answer, but his throat had closed in on itself all of a sudden. He had to swallow hard before he could speak.

“If… if I make it back, I’ll be happy to let him know how smart you are.”

Zeb’s smile fell. He put his large hand on Kallus’ shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

“Don’t talk like that. Of course you’re gonna make it. You’re gonna come home with us and you’re gonna keep working on being a hero again, okay?”

Kallus held his gaze for a long moment. The confidence in Zeb’s eyes was contagious, and the heat radiating from his hand seemed to be seeping into Kallus’ body and filling him with energy. For a second there, he almost believed everything would be all right.

“I’m in your hands,” he replied softly, shrugging. It felt good to say that, to simply trust his friend an let go. It was like taking a weight off his shoulders. Whatever might happen on that trial, he had no doubt Zeb was his best chance to survive.

And honestly? He wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

***

 

Zeb left the improvised cell in a better mood than he had entered it. At least Kallus wasn’t badly hurt, and he hadn’t lost his spirits either. Which, considering the situation, was no small feat.

A soldier led him to the room he had been assigned for the night. It had been presented to him and the rest of the crew as a courtesy, but Zeb had the strong suspicion it wasn’t so much an option as an imposition. He doubted very much they would have allowed them to go sleep in the Ghost if they had asked.

Not that he had any plans to take a single step out of the city while Kallus was still in it, anyway.

His room wasn’t empty when he arrived. Hera, Kanan and Ezra were waiting for him, sitting at the small round table in the corner. When he opened the door, they all turned to him with worried faces.

“Is he ok?”, asked Kanan.

“A little sore, but he’ll be fine. They let me patch him up.” Zeb slumped on a chair, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. He rested his head on one hand, his elbow on the table, and for a brief moment he considered falling asleep right there and then.

Still, he wasn’t so tired that he wouldn’t notice the strange looks the other three were exchanging. He straightened up in his seat, frowning.

“What’s going on? You guys look like you’re about to tell me space waffles are no longer in production or something like that.”

Ezra blushed, Kanan seemed suddenly fascinated with the floor and Hera let out a soft sigh. She put a hand on Zeb’s forearm and squeezed gently.

“Zeb, we need to talk about what’s gonna happen tomorrow.”

“I told you what’s gonna happen. They’re gonna judge Kallus, we’ll have to speak on his behalf and convince the council of elders that he doesn’t deserve to die.”

“Yes, I know. But I mean we should start planning in case we can’t change their minds. Zeb, whatever the sentence is, we can’t let them kill Kallus.”

“Well, that’s kind of a given, Hera.” He didn’t mean to sound angry, but he was tired and worried and his patience was wearing thin. “He’s one of us.”

“That he is,” she said. “And we need him. His work with the Rebellion has been invaluable so far, you know that. And even if it wasn’t, we protect our own.”

“Still not disagreeing with you.”

“Zeb, what Hera is trying to say is that we’ll have to rescue him if the trial goes wrong,” Kanan intervened. “And that might mean shooting our way out of here.”

Zeb felt a chill run up his spine.

“No.”

“Zeb…”

“No way, Kanan. This is my people, and they’ve suffered more than enough. I didn’t come here to beat them even more than the Empire did. I’m not letting them touch Kallus, but I’m not killing a single lasat either.”

“That’s why we need a plan,” Ezra said. “A good one, so we make sure nobody gets hurt.”

“I already have a plan.” Zeb crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them defiantly. “I was a member of the Honor Guard, I studied our laws inside and out. I know what I have to do.”

“And if your plan fails?”, Hera insisted.

“It won’t.”

She let out a frustrated sigh, her lekku shaking as she turned her head aside. To be honest, a part of Zeb understood her annoyance. He knew he was being stubborn, and this whole situation would be a lot easier for his friends if he were a little more forthcoming with his plan. But then, they might also think he was crazy and try to stop him. He was certainly not risking it.

“Zeb, I think you’re underestimating the real danger Kallus is in right now, we can’t…”

“I’m in love with him, Hera”, he blurted out.

The three of them stared at him like he had just grown a second head, stunned into silence. Zeb felt his face grow hot and he panicked for a moment, but then he thought what the hell. Now that he had said it, he might as well go all the way.

“I’m not underestimating anything,” he continued. “Believe me, I’m scared out of my wits. But we can’t solve this the way we usually do. The lasats aren’t the enemy.”

He run a hand over the back of his head, avoiding everyone’s eyes. “I promise you, I’m not losing him. I can’t. But you’re gonna have to trust me.”

Nobody reacted for a couple of seconds, and then Ezra stood up and hugged Zeb, briefly but with enough force to almost knock him out of his chair. Kanan turned to Hera in that unique way of his that made you think he was looking at her even though he couldn’t see anything. She gazed at the jedi with a knowing expression, and then she reached out to hold Zeb’s hand over the table.

“Of course we trust you,” she said gently. “We are on your side no matter what , never forget that.”

Zeb swallowed hard. His chest felt tight and his eyes burned with a sudden swell of gratitude. Damn, he was so lucky to have these people in his life, this family. But oh, Ashla, what if they were right? What if he was being overconfident about his stupid plan and gambling with Kallus’ life? What if he lost that bet?

He tried to push that thought away with all of his might. That tiny, insidious shred of doubt had been lurking around the edges of his mind ever since he came up with the idea, but he couldn’t afford to listen to it. If he did, he’d probably lose his shit.

“By the way,” he said, desperately trying to distract himself from that thought, “I’d appreciate if you don’t tell Kallus anything. Especially the part about me being in love with him. He doesn’t know.”

“Sure, buddy,” said Kanan, and the others nodded as well.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now,” Hera added. “But don’t try to carry all the weight on your shoulders, ok? We’re here to help.”

Zeb sighed. “Just don’t ask me to choose between Kallus and my people and I’ll be fine.”

“I know it’s an impossible choice,” she answered softly. “That’s what I’m trying to say, Zeb. If it comes to that, you won’t have to make that decision.”

Zeb eyed her with a suspicious frown. If she had meant that to be reassuring, she had failed spectacularly.

Great. So, in summary, he had to keep his people from killing the man he loved _and_ keep his friends from hurting his people, too. Or worse, getting killed themselves in a half-baked suicide mission of four people—five, if they were lucky enough to get Kallus out— against a hundred.

And it all depended on Zeb’s plan being successful.

Yeah, no pressure at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more to go! Thanks, everyone, for the love, the kudos and the comments. You guys are awesome.

The whole colony had gathered in the Assembly to watch the trial. Or at least so it seemed, judging by how many people filled the rows of seats alongside the walls.

Kallus entered the room escorted by his two guards, with his hands chained in front of him but freshly showered and fed, and feeling like a human being again. The night before, he had been moved from the tool shed to a proper cell inside the Town Hall, with an actual bed and a small fresher, not very different from his quarters at the _Relentless_. It had no windows and the door had been hastily equipped with a lock for his sake, but it was a great improvement.

They had treated him a lot better than he expected. There had been no insults from the guards, no pushing him around in the corridors while they led him from one place to another. Kallus was starting to realize that these people, no matter how much they hated him, were still honorable enough to treat a prisoner with dignity.

He had never seen the Empire do that.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure the Rebellion was like that.

The guards led him to the center of the square, by the statue. Four seats had been set there, probably for the council of elders Zeb had told him about. There were another two chairs facing the other four and Zeb was standing next to them, waiting. The two guards took Kallus there and made him sit before taking a step back.

Kallus saw Hera, Kanan and Ezra sitting on the first row in front of him. They were sending him encouraging smiles that did very little to mask the worry in their faces, but he felt grateful for them anyway. In the sea of angry murmurs and hostile faces that surronded him, these four people were the only source of warmth and sympathy.

“How are you feeling?” Zeb asked in a whisper as he sat on the other chair, next to Kallus.

“Much better. They’ve been treating me very well. I’m a little nervous, though.”

“I’d be surprised if you weren’t.”

“Yes, I suppose it’s to be expected.” He bit his lower lip, feeling insecure all of a sudden. There was something he wanted to add, but he wasn’t sure how it would be received or if it was the right moment to say it. In the end, he decided to go on with it anyway. “Zeb, I want to thank you for this. I mean defending me. You’re standing on my side against your own people, and I can only imagine how hard it must be for you. Whatever happens in this trial, I want you to know how much I value what you’re doing for me.”

“Hey, don’t even mention it,” Zeb answered, looking bashful. “You’re one of us, ok? You’re my people too.”

Kallus felt those words like a punch in the gut. He was breathless for a moment, his heart hammering in his chest. Ever since he made the decision to start spying for the Rebellion, he had missed the feeling of being part of something bigger than himself, like he used to feel in the Empire. His work as Fulcrum, although important and satisfying in many regards, had been terribly lonely and isolating. It had left him with an intense need for belonging, for connection. That was one of the reasons he had been so keen on being useful for the rebels. He had worked his ass off, day and night, to make sure they wouldn’t kick him out now that he couldn’t be their inside man anymore.

But this was more than that. This was acceptance, appreciation, loyalty. Not for whatever imperial secrets he could provide, but for himself. Zeb was giving him something he never even dared to hope for, but desperately needed. And he had done it so nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a big deal. _You’re my people too_. Such a simple phrase, and yet it had managed to shake Kallus’ world to the core.

It almost made this whole situation worth it, even if it ended up meaning his death.

He didn’t get a chance to answer—assuming he would have found his voice again eventually—because four lasats entered the square from the Town Hall and headed for the seats in front of them. The murmurs of the crowd instantly became more excited.

Zeb and Kallus got up from their chairs at the same time.

“That’s the Mayor,” Zeb told him in a whisper. Kallus remembered him from the day before, when the soldiers had taken him to his office. “The lady right behind him is the physician, I think her name is Dr. Lelium. The other woman is the schoolteacher-slash-librarian, Ona Karkut. And the last one is the president of the mining guild. His name is Osariel. I met them all yesterday.”

“And what do you think of them?”

Zeb shrugged one shoulder. “They seemed pretty level-headed to me. I dunno, I didn’t have time to talk to them much. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“You seem awfully relaxed, all things considered.”

The lasat shrugged again. “I told you. I have a plan.”

“Well, let’s hope it works.”

The elders got to their seats and the Mayor turned to address the crowd.

“Let the trial begin,” he said, and then he sat down with the others. “Who is willing to present charges against this human?”

Captain Dasha Nekaros got up from her seat and stepped forward. She bowed respectfully before the council.

“I was still a cadet the day the Empire destroyed Lasan, but because of that I was in the royal palace when they attacked. This man was leading their army,” she started, pointing at Kallus with her finger. “I remember because I saw him defeat my older brother, a beloved and respected member of the Lasan Honor Guard, in single combat. No one had ever bested him before.”

Her voice broke with the pain of the memories and Kallus gasped. Was she talking about the lasat guard he had faced that day, the one who gave him his bo-rifle? This woman was his little sister? No wonder she hated him so much. Even though it had been a fair fight, that wouldn’t have made her loss any less painful. And she’d had to _watch it_.

“Seeing him fight my brother, I thought he had some sense of honor at least. But I was wrong, as I soon realized,” she went on. “The imperials were assaulting the palace. Most of our forces were concentrated there and we were holding them back. The imps couldn’t manage to find an opening. But then they brought those horrible cannons, the T-7 ion disruptors…”

A rising murmur amongst the crowd interrupted her, forcing Masaru Pilvo to call the Assembly to order. When the noise died down, she continued.

“I saw him give the order to fire,” she said softly, with a voice full of sadness. “The explosion destroyed the palace. It knocked me off too, but I was in the rear, so I didn’t get hurt too badly. Others weren’t so lucky. Thousands died in the first blast, and yet the Empire didn’t stop there. They kept firing until there was nothing left. Until the city was in ruins and our people had been almost completely exterminated.”

Kallus lowered his eyes, unable to watch the sorrow on her face any longer. She bowed again and went back to her seat, where her soldiers inmediately surrounded her like a blanket. Kallus wondered if that was it, but then another lasat stepped into the center of the square to speak before the council.

“I lost my two sons in the siege of Lasan,” he started, his voice trembling. “They were farmers like me, not soldiers, but every lasat is a warrior one way or another, so they went to help when the Empire came. I… I couldn’t even bury them afterwards. There was nothing left of their bodies…”

He kept talking for a while, to Kallus’ growing shame. Then, when he finished, another lasat took his place, telling another terrible story of loss and blood and death. And when he was done, a lady came forward to do the same.

It went on, an on, an on.

It looked like every single citizen in the colony had something to say against Kallus, and every new testimony added to the weight of regret he was already carrying upon his shoulders. Zeb kept sending him worried glances, but at a certain point Kallus stopped noticing them. He had become numb to everything but his own guilt, and felt like he was about to be crushed by it.

He would have gladly walked to his death right then and there, just to make it stop.

The morning was already turning into noon when the Mayor finally decided to put an end to the seemingly endless string of accusations.

“We have heard the charges,” he stated, raising to his feet. “We will have a recess now for lunch and the trial will resume this afternoon with the allegations in defense of the prisoner.”

Kallus didn’t move at first, not even when the two guards stood on each side of him and Zeb. He felt too weak to get up, breathless, like the moon’s gravity had suddenly multiplied tenfold and he wasn’t strong enough to carry his own body. Zeb gently touched his elbow and Kallus looked up.

“Come on, mate,” he said softly. “You look like you could use a break.”

Somehow he managed to stand and drag his feet the short distance to the Town Hall. The guards took off Kallus’ handcuffs before leaving him in his cell with Zeb. A tray with food had been left for them on the small table by the bed.

“You hungry?”

“No, thanks.”

Zeb sighed and left the tray untouched, then made Kallus sit on the bed and crouched in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Hey. I know it looks bad, but this isn’t over yet, ok? It’s our turn to speak now, we’ll fix this.”

Kallus lifted his eyes to Zeb’s face, so determined and hopeful, and he felt his heart break again.

“It doesn’t matter, Zeb,” he whispered. “It won’t change what I did to these people.”

“Well, it _will_ matter if it means you don’t get killed, dontcha think?”

Kallus looked away, unable to bear the softness in Zeb’s voice, the warmth in his eyes, the concern in his voice. He didn’t deserve any of it.

“Perhaps you should let them do it.”

Zeb raised to his feet at that, taking a step back with a stormy look on his face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

And then it was like some kind of den had opened inside Kallus’ chest and all his despair came out, making it impossible for him to shut up.

“You’ve heard them, Zeb! Every single person in this colony has lost someone because of me. A parent, a child, a sibling… I knew I had done something terrible on Lasan, but I used to remember it as a battle. This doesn’t sound like a battle! Many of them were civilians, Zeb. How could I be so blind? I followed orders without question and I unleashed a massacre on innocent people. And I can’t fix that! No matter what I do, I can’t bring them back to life or restore Lasan to its rightful citizens, and…  Oh. Oh, stars, did I kill _your family_ too?”

“Don’t do that to yourself, Kal”, Zeb replied, shaking his head.

“I did, didn’t I? That’s why you don’t want to answer me.” Zeb turned away, but Kallus stood up from the bed and made the lasat face him. “Was it your parents? Or your wife? Children?”

“Just shut up, okay!” Zeb was donwright angry now.”I’ve never been married, don’t dig yourself a deeper hole than the one you’re already in! If you have to know, it was just me and my grandma and we both escaped, but what does it matter if it was my family or someone else’s family? Is it gonna make you feel any better?”

Kallus swallowed hard. At that point he was meeting Zeb’s gaze by sheer willpower, but he refused to be a coward on top of everything else.

“No,” he says. “Not really.”

“No, of course not,” Zeb replied, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “Kal, this trial is not about changing the past, it’s about moving forward. You said it yourself, you can’t bring back the dead. Killing you ain’t gonna do these people any good.”

“But maybe they need the closure, Zeb.”

“Closure, my ass!! They need to move on!” He was furious now, so much Kallus almost recoiled. “Living in the past is useless, I know that better than anybody!  Besides, what about the Rebellion and the people we protect, the people _you’re_ helping? Are they supposed to just suck it up and defend themselves so that these lasats can have their revenge?”

“Oh, come on, Zeb, don’t give me that! Someone else will do my job, I’m not that important.”

“Karabast, no!! It doesn’t work that way!!”, Zeb practically yelled. He grabbed Kallus by the shoulders and pushed him up agaist the wall, crowding him there.

“Maybe in the Empire you were just a cog in a machine, but not with us!! You’re a friend here, a partner! You’re part of a family!! And you don’t just go and replace fammhhhh…!!”

He was silenced by Kallus’ lips crushing his own.

He hadn’t meant to do that, he really, really hadn’t. He’d just been unable to stop himself from throwing his whole body forward into Zeb’s arms and kissing him, because honestly? He couldn’t be expected to restrain himself after hearing _that_.

It only took him about a couple of seconds to panic and step back, terrified that he had crossed a line. Zeb was still as a statue, staring at him with his green eyes impossibly big, his hands gripping Kallus’ shoulders with enough strength to leave marks.

“Oh shit,” Kallus murmured. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”

He received no answer. Zeb didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t even blink. The only sign that he was alive at all was the quick rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and Kallus was about to go out and beg the lasats to execute him already.

“Please, say something.”

Like he was pulling himself out of a spell, Zeb blinked and took a deep breath.

“Your timing sucks, mate.”

And for some unexplicable reason, that made Kallus burst out laughing.

Some part of him knew he was probably hysterical, but he simply couldn’t stop.

“You’re right,” he said between fits of laughter. “You’re absolutely right. Oh, Zeb, I’m so sorry. I know it’s selfish of me to drop this bomb on you now, when there’s a very real possibility that I’ll be dead by tomorrow, but… Well, maybe I won’t get another chance to say this, so…” He managed to calm down and looked at Zeb straight in the eye. “I love you.”

Zeb inhaled sharply, his whole face lighting up. The hands gripping Kallus’ shoulders moved to tenderly cradle his face, his body inching a little closer.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said in a trembling voice. “We will have a future together, I promise you that. But man, the way I want to show you how I feel about you? I need a lot more time and privacy than we can have here.”

Then he leaned in and captured Kallus’ mouth with his. A proper kiss this time, slow and thorough. His lips were firm but soft, gently goading the man into opening his mouth and teasing him with the tip of his tongue. He kissed like he was trying to win a damn medal for it, and Kallus felt his knees buckle. He had to hold on to Zeb’s hips to steady himself, but he didn’t care. He never wanted it to stop.

“Oh, and for the record?” Zeb whispered against Kallus’ lips when he finally came up for air. “I love you, too.”

A knock on the door made them pull apart and come back to reality. The panel opened with a hiss to let the two soldiers in, and Zeb squeezed Kallus’ hand one last time before letting go. The guards silently put the handcuffs on the ex imperial’s wrists and guided them back to the Assembly.

The Alexandr Kallus who left that cell was a completely different man than the one who had entered it half an hour ago. He walked with his back straight and his head high, feeling like his heart was about to explode with love, and not even the angry murmurs of the crowd when they saw him could dampen his spirits. If he had to meet his death at the end of this day, he would die a happy man indeed.

Except he didn’t want to die. Not now, before Zeb and him had had time to explore this thing between them. He wanted to learn all of Zeb’s quirks, to know what his favorite food was and the kind of music he hated. He wanted to go on missions with him and the rest of the Ghost crew, to save his life and be saved by him so many times they’d lose count. He wanted to wake up in his arms and have lazy morning sex with him. He wanted inside jokes and shared memories and stupid bickering over small things. He wanted them finishing each other’s sentences and holding whole conversations with their eyes alone, like he had seen Kanan and Hera do. He wanted everything.

All the resignation he had felt before had vanished. He couldn’t die here. It didn’t matter if he deserved it or not. He couldn’t do that to Zeb.

They took their assigned seats before the council. The Mayor did a little handwave in Zeb’s direction to have him stand up. Zeb looked directly at the place where the rest of Phoenix Squadron were sitting.

“Who’s willing to speak on behalf of this man?”

Ezra was the first to get up and stand before the council. He introduced himself and then started telling the Assembly about Kallus’ work as Fulcrum, how he had helped Sabine escape with the young pilots and how he had protected Kanan and himself on one of their undercover missions.

“He took great risks to help us,” the boy said. “We offered to get him out when we heard Grand Admiral Thrawn was about to discover his identity, but he found a way to divert the imperials’ attention from him and stayed. He literally said to me ‘ _I can do more good here’_. Turns out it’s not so easy to fool Thrawn, so he almost got killed for that.”

It was Kanan’s turn then. He raised a soft murmur of awe from the crowd when he introduced himself as _‘Kanan Jarrus, jedi knight’_ , all eyes inmediately going to the lightsaber hanging from his hip. There was something about his dignified posture, the mask hiding his blind eyes, his sober manners and the serenity in his voice that had the whole audience enraptured. He told them how Kallus’ warning before the battle of Atollon had made it possible for them to stand a chance against the Empire and saved many lives, and how he had barely escaped with his own life as a consequence. He also spoke of the many hits they’d managed to get against the Empire thanks to the information Kallus had given them since he oficially defected: the slaves they had liberated, the imperial prisons they had busted, the supplies they had redistributed.

When he finished, the Assembly was so quiet his steps were perfectly audible as he walked back to his seat. Hera smiled at him and briefly caressed his face before she moved to the center of the square.

“I’m Captain Hera Syndulla of the Rebel Alliance,” she said to the council. “And I’m here to beg you to spare the life of our friend.”

Kallus drew a sharp intake of breath at her words. He had expected her to support him for Zeb’s sake, but he had imagined she would base her arguments on the work he was doing for the Rebellion. He knew he was useful. He was a good tactician, and the missions he had planned had been quite successful. Besides, the rebels had invested a lot on his spy training program, he figured they wouldn’t want to lose his progress.

But Hera wasn’t speaking about any of that. She was telling the council, and by extension the whole colony, that Kallus mattered to them personally.

He didn’t know how to deal with that.

“He’s still unsure about his place in the Rebellion,” she was saying, and how in the stars did she know so much? “But I think he’s finally getting a little more confident. You see, the Empire was all he ever knew, and he has internalized the idea that he needs to be useful to deserve a place with us. So he works harder than anybody else. But we’re getting him to open up, little by little. He’s actually making friends now, and not just the four of us. The operatives he is training to become spies speak very highly of him. There’s also General Dodonna, one of our highest ranking officers. He’s quite fond of him too, perhaps because he also defected from the Empire when he was young. I think, if he were here, he’d tell you he sees Kallus as the son he could have had in another life.”

Kallus turned to look at Zeb with a lump in his throat.

“I know,” Zeb whispered. “She’s quite observant, isn’t she?”

And that was one of the things that made her such a good leader, Kallus thought as he nodded and looked back at her. It was weird to think of a woman who was younger than him as motherly, but he couldn’t find another word to describe it. She was standing there with a soft smile on her face, calmly speaking her heart out in that sweet, velvety voice of hers, and Kallus would have sweared the four elderly lasats were on the verge of tears.

“Anyway, I understand your need for justice, I really do. And I know how much he hurt you. But please, please, believe me when I say that he is different now. He regrets what he did and he’s desperately trying to do better. There’s a lot of people who care for him, who depend on him. We’ve lost too many friends in this war, we don’t want to lose another.” She made a small pause, gazing at all the members of the council one by one. “Thank you for listening.”

She went back to her seat in the middle of a respectful silence.

“Well,” Kallus murmured, leaning towards Zeb’s ear. “Now what?”

“Now it’s my turn,” he answered, getting to his feet.

He briefly bowed before the council, then turned in a slow circle to look at the crowd gathered around them. He was making it clear that his words would be addressed to all of them, not just the elders.

“None of us could ever forget what the Empire did on Lasan,” he started. “Believe me, I know. It’s haunted me for years, too. So I understand why you’re angry. And I understand it’s easier to put all the blame on a single person instead of an abstract entity like the Empire. It hurts less when you have someone to hate for it, right? I get it, I do. But let’s be real for a moment, okay? He didn’t do it alone.”

He moved closer to the rows of seats on the left side and started walking alongside them as he talked.

“You’re all acting as if this man had single-handedly wiped out our race from the face of Lasan. All on his own. I mean, seriously? Where’s your pride? We’re Lasat! We’re warriors! It’s not so easy to defeat us! When the Empire came for us we fought back, and we fought back hard. So hard they had to use the deadliest weapons the Empire has ever built to beat us. Yes, he gave the order to use those weapons, but there were many others behind him making it possible. People who designed those cannons, people who paid to have them made, people who gave them to this man and told him to use them on Lasan. He might have been the one on the front lines, but make no mistake: it was the Empire, the whole Empire, who crushed our people. The same Empire that still hunts us all over the galaxy, and is the reason you’re hiding here, in this frozen moon. That same Empire wants _him_ dead, too.”

He pointed at Kallus with his finger as he said that last part. Then he moved to the other side of the room and kept talking for the people sitting there.

“They want him dead ‘cause he’s gonna help us defeat them once and for all. ‘Cause he was brave enough to take a hard look at his life, acknowledge he had been wrong and do something about it. You may think whatever you want of him, but you gotta admit that takes guts.”

Zeb turned to look at Kallus, with so much fondness in his face it was a miracle the whole Assembly didn’t collectively roll their eyes at the sight. Then he walked back to where he started, right in front of the council, to finish his speech.

“So yeah, I get that you’re angry and you hate him. Hell, I used to hate him too. To be fair, he was kind of a piece of trash, back then.”

Kallus couldn’t help the affectionate smile that rose to his lips at Zeb’s brutal honesty. He would have made a very interesting lawyer indeed, had he chosen that path.

“But not anymore,” Zeb continued, once again with the lovestruck gaze and the soft voice, and Kallus felt his face go red. “Turns out he’s a great guy, when you get to know him. And I’m very proud to call him my friend. If anyone ever deserved a second chance, it’s him.”

He focused on the council again. “So I guess what I’m asking you is to judge the man he is now, not the man he was all those years ago. And I’m asking you to consider one thing: if you decide to kill him, you’ll be doing the Empire a huge favor. And for what? For a brief sense of closure that will vanish as soon as you realize most of the people responsible are still out there. Trust me, it’s not worth it.”

Kallus could barely believe his eyes. The four members of the council were fidgeting in their seats and exchanging uncomfortable glances, tight mouths and deep frowns all over their faces.

He had done it. Holy shit, he had done it. Zeb had managed to push all the right buttons and had planted a seed of doubt in these people’s minds.

For the first time since the whole mess started, Kallus felt a tiny bit of hope blossoming in his chest.

Maybe Zeb was going to save him, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Zeb was pacing Kallus’ cell up and down like a caged beast, which, considering the room wasn’t that wide to begin with, meant he was starting to get dizzy with so much turning around. He could feel Kallus’ eyes on him from the bed, where the man was sitting with his hands on his lap.

“Is it a good sign that it’s taking them so long to decide?”, Kallus asked.

“I dunno,” Zeb replied, trying to will the knot in his stomach to loosen up. “But it’s getting on my nerves. How can you be this calm?”

Kallus shrugged. “Years of imperial training, I suppose.”

Indecent, that’s what it was. He had no right to appear so collected when Zeb was completely freaking out. Rolling his eyes, the lasat resumed his nervous walk.

“Zeb, come on,” Kallus said. “Whatever happens, it’s out of our hands now. There’s no point in stressing yourself out. Besides, you’ve done a great job. I think… I think there’s an actual chance the plan might work.”

That made the lasat stop in his tracks. “What the hell are you talking about? What plan?”

Kallus blinked, looking puzzled.

“ _Your_ plan,” he repeated. “You know, appealing to your people’s pride. Putting them in a position where they have to choose between pardoning me or helping the Empire. That plan.”

“You mean…?” Zeb pointed to the door behind him with his thumb, realization dawning on him. “Kal, that wasn’t my plan. Wait, you thought I was counting on saving your life using _my brain_?”

The look Kallus gave him would have been hilarious if they hadn’t been in a life or death situation. The man seemed completely dumbfounded.

“I… I am confused.”

“Yeah, no kidding, mate. Do you really think I’d risk your life on my wits alone? Have you met me?”

 “Yes, I have met you,” said Kallus softly, standing up from the bed. He walked over to Zeb and looked up at him with such open adoration the lasat felt his chest go tight. “That’s precisely why I’m trusting you with my life. Because you’re smart, and intuitive, and know how to read people much better than I do. And you just proved it out there, in front of everybody.”

Zeb felt a surge of pride at those words, as much as the protective sentiment behind them. He puffed out his chest a little and smiled.

“Really? You think I did good?”

Kallus scoffed as if the question itself was ridiculous. “Are you serious? You were brilliant!”

Zeb’s smile grew even wider. Kallus defending his honor might be his new favorite thing. He walked up to him, slowly, encircling the man’s waist with his arms and playfully pulling him to his chest. He felt Kallus instantly melt against him.

“Brilliant, huh? I like that,” said Zeb in a husky, low voice. He leaned in for a kiss, meaning for it to be short and sweet, but once his lips touched Kallus’ he just couldn’t get enough. They kissed slowly and tenderly until they were both breathless.

“All right, stop that,” Kallus panted, his eyes closed and his forehead pressed against Zeb’s. “Don’t think for a moment I don’t see that you’re trying to distract me. It’s not going to work, Zeb.”

“It’s working pretty well for me,” Zeb replied, pulling Kallus to him until their hips were flush with each other. The need for friction was almost unbearable, but he forced himself to stay still and not start something that would most likely get interrupted.

“I’m serious,” Kallus insisted, in a smoky voice that went straight to Zeb’s groin. “If that wasn’t your plan, then what is it?”

“Well…,” Zeb said without thinking as he kissed Kallus’ brow, his cheeks, his temples. “I guess you could call it a loophole.”

“A loop…” Kallus stammered, and then he gently but firmly pushed Zeb back so there was a respectable distance between them. “What are you talking about? I’m not really in the mood for jokes right now.”

Zeb had to shake his head to clear it up a bit. He took a deep breath and sighed with defeat, finally surrendering to the fact that there was no point trying to avoid a question when a professional interrogator was involved.

“Look, the trial is part of the process. We had to go through it anyway, so I thought I might as well give it try. But between you and me, I never counted on winning. I mean, I hope we win, of course, that would be awesome. But if we don’t… Well, that’s what my plan is for.”

Kallus threw him a suspicious look.

“And does this plan of yours involve violence?”

The lasat tilted his head sideways, a noncomittal expression on his face. “It may involve a little violence.”

“Zeb, no,” Kallus gasped, horrified. “You can’t do that. You’ll never forgive yourself if you hurt one of your own trying to save me. Besides, we’re far too deep into the mountain and there’s too many of them, we’d never get out of here alive.”

“It’s not what you think,” Zeb replied, shaking his head. “Kal, I need you to trust me just a little bit longer, I’m not…”

He was interrupted by a brief knock and the whoosh of the door sliding open.

“Sorry, no time to explain,” he said, mentally pumping his fist in the air with relief.

“Zeb…”

“Look, either I’ll tell you later or you’ll see for yourself. Whatever happens, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Kallus scowled at him, but he couldn’t say anything else now that the guards were in the room, securing his handcuffs once more.

They were led to the square for what Zeb hoped would be the last time.

 

***

 

Kallus walked to his chair with a knot of dread in his stomach, casting sidelong glances in Zeb’s direction all the way. Not knowing what was going to happen was driving him crazy, and his apprehension was making him imagine all kinds of terrible scenarios. Most of them involving extremely reckless actions on Zeb’s part.

He was so worried about him, he had almost forgotten it was his own fate that was about to be decided.

The council was already there, waiting for him. As soon as they took their seats, the Mayor stood up.

“We have heard very compelling arguments on both sides,” the old lasat started. “It has been very difficult to reach an agreement. But in the end, the law is very clear, and we’re not here to judge this man’s character. We’re here to judge his actions.”

He made a brief pause to exchange glances with the other three members of the council, who nodded in turn. “Those actions being: the use of overwhelming and disproportionate force in battle, resulting in the death of many innocents. And of those charges, we have found him guilty.”

Kallus closed his eyes, blood draining from his face. The raising murmur from the crowd was nearly drowned by the ringing in his ears, but he still managed to hear the rest of Pilvo’s speech very clearly.

“Alexsandr Kallus, it is my duty to sentence you to death by firing squad. May the Ashla have mercy of your soul.”

He opened his eyes again, and saw many things at once in the span of half a second.

He saw Dasha’s face crumble with relief, and then she buried it in her hands, crying.

He saw Kanan and Ezra reaching for their lightsabers.

He saw Hera take her comm to her mouth, presumably to put in motion whatever plan she had set up with Chopper.

And then he saw Zeb standing up to his full height, strong and stalwart, facing the council with a defiant look on his face.

“Then I invoke the Cor-Ai!”, he exclaimed in his deep voice, the echo resonating all over the Assembly.

The reaction to his words was stunning. The whole room gasped at once, and then the rumor of conversations became so loud it almost drowned the attempts of the council to call the Assembly to order. The Mayor looked surprised, but unlike the rest of the audience, he didn’t seem too disgruntled.

“You wish to challenge the sentence?”

Zeb nodded solemnly. “I do.”

“I had figured you might. Very well,” the old lasat replied with a neutral face. “Let’s get ready.”

The room instantly filled again with the buzz of many voices, as the crowd excitedly discussed the latest development. Ignoring all of it, Kallus turned to face Zeb.

“What the hell did you just do?”, he asked in a worried tone. “What is the Cor-Ai?”

“I’d like to hear the answer to that question as well,” said Hera in a much sterner voice. She was walking to him with her hands curled into fists and a stormy look on her face, followed by Kanan and Ezra. “Garazeb Orrelios, what _exactly_ have you got yourself into?”

Zeb sighed, scratching his head. “Ah, Karabast. It’s not that bad, okay? The Cor-Ai is an ancient lasat law. It’s not used very often. It states that a death sentence can be commuted if someone is willing to fight for the prisoner’s life and wins the challenge. So that’s what I’m gonna do. The council will name a champion and I’m gonna beat them in single combat. Then we can get out of here.”

“The hell you are,” Kallus spat out, making everyone look at him in surprise at his tone. He was shaking with fury, fear clutching his stomach so hard he would have puked if he’d had anything to eat. “If this is the only way, then I’ll face their champion myself. I can fight my own battles.”

“Not this time, you can’t,” Zeb answered. “You didn’t issue the challenge. I did.”

“I might have, if I had known it was a possibility! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Around them, a few lasats were removing the chairs and clearing a space for the fight. The council had stepped aside to speak with Captain Nekaros, probably asking her to appoint a champion from her Honor Guard. Kallus felt he was running out of time, and fast.

Zeb gave him a long look, a muscle twitching in his jaw. When he spoke, he did it in a much softer tone than before.

“Do you think I don’t recognize guilt when I see it? Or that I don’t know what it does to a person? I was afraid you’d go into that fight with all that crap weighing on your shoulders and you’d hesitate at the worst moment. I couldn’t take that chance.”

“And instead you decide to risk your own life for mine? To put yourself in a position where you may have to kill one of your people to save me? No, Zeb, I won’t let you do this!”

“Oh, come on!”, Zeb grunted. “Just chill a bit, for Ashla’s sake! It’s not a fight to the death, we’re not barbarians!”

Kallus abruptly stopped, a hand in the air and his mouth open to keep arguing. He closed it again and blinked, taken aback, all his righteous fury completely depleted.

“It’s not?”

“No, of course not,” Zeb replied gruffly. “The only life at stake here is yours.”

“Oh, great. Then I can just relax and enjoy the show, I suppose,” he deadpanned.

Zeb arched an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Look at that,” he said. “Turns out you do have a sense of humor after all.”

Kallus crossed his arms like a sulking child, painfully aware of the looks the other three were giving them. “It’s not a sense of humor. It’s a defense mechanism.”

“You don’t need one of those. You got me,” Zeb retorted with a satisfied smirk, making Kallus blush even harder.

Ezra glanced from one to the other in disbelief. “You two are ridiculous, you knew that?”

“Ezra…” Kanan warned him. “You promised.”

“Seriously, Kanan, I don’t think it’s a secret anymore.”

“Ezra!”

“It’s okay,” Zeb intervened, raising a hand in a placating gesture. “The kid’s right. Not really how I planned to tell you guys, but yeah. We’re a thing now. Sort of. I dunno, it’s pretty recent.” He looked at Kallus for confirmation.

“Definitely a thing,” the ex agent replied in a heartfelt tone, earning himself a grin from the lasat.

“Well, congratulations, then,” Hera said distractedly, her face turned away and her attention on everything that was happening around them. “But I think we’ll have to leave the party for later. Looks like they’re ready to start.”

The council had taken seats in the first row of benches, with the rest of the people, and the two guards that had been escorting Kallus the whole time were coming closer, presumably to take him aside to watch the fight.

“Yeah, right,” Zeb agreed. “Ezra, give me my bo-rifle.”

The boy reached back to unstrap the weapon, which Zeb had given him earlier for safekeeping, and handed it to him. Zeb checked it and smiled to Kallus.

“See ya later, then,” he said. “Gotta go save your life.”

“I know you will,” Kallus answered softly. “As much as I hate to be the damsel in distress here, I have no doubt you will do it.”

A sudden cheer from the crowd announced the appearance of the city’s champion. They all turned around at the sound, to be met with the sight of who had to be the biggest lasat that had ever existed.

At least a head taller than Zeb, with arms the size of Kallus’ legs and a neck almost as thick as the human’s waist. He was young, too, probably just reached his prime. The five of them stared at the massive warrior with big eyes and mouths hanging open, craning their necks to get the whole picture.

“I’d rather you have my body incinerated instead of buried, just so you know,” Kallus said in a weak voice. Zeb gave him an offended look.

“Careful, Kal. I could start thinking you’re actually funny,” he replied sarcastically, through gritted teeth.

“Amazing,” they heard Kanan say. “You’ve been a couple for all of three hours and you’re already bickering. Must be a new record.”

The guards arrived to lead them to the benches, and the fight oficially began.

Kallus felt his heart beating wildly in his chest as the two lasats circled each other, their bo-rifles extended and cracking with electricity. The weapons were set in non-lethal mode, but that didn’t mean a hit from them wouldn’t hurt. Kallus new that better than most.

He studied Zeb’s opponent intently, looking for weak spots. He had to have any. If there was something his own experience had taught him, was that no enemy was invincible.

There it was. The young lasat kept shooting glances in Captain Nekaros’ direction. He was probably in love with her, or perhaps he was hoping to earn her favor and rise in the ranks of the Honor Guard. Either way, it was clear he wanted to impress her. If Zeb would just show off a little in front of her, get to capture her attention, the boy would feel threatened. He’d get nervous. At that age, it was unlikely he’d be very adept at holding his temper. It would be easy to taunt him, to make him angry enough to lose his concentration…

He stopped himself in the middle of that thought. That was _his_ way of fighting, not Zeb’s. His beloved lasat was way too honorable to resort to the kind of tricks Kallus had been taught to use by the Empire. He would meet this fight head on, as he always did.

He could only pray that was enough.

The young one attacked first. With a powerful cry, he launched himself forward to swing his bo-rifle in an high arc that Zeb blocked easily, even if the strength of the collision made him slide backwards a couple of inches. The soldier went on with a series of blows, to the head, the side, the legs, trying to find an opening, but finding Zeb’s bo-rifle in the way every time.

This lasat’s technique was impressive, but it soon became obvious that he had never been in a real fight in his entire life. To Kallus’ expert eyes at least, he was telegraphing every single one of his moves, and certainly Zeb was anticipating them like he was a jedi himself. The kid had the size and the strength, but Zeb had the speed and, more importantly, the experience.

Zeb moved around his adversary with deadly grace, studying him, his concentration never wavering. He managed to land a blow to the young lasat’s stomach, and then to his jaw when he instinctively curled up on himself. He sent the soldier flat on his back among the crowd’s exclamations of surprise, but the kid got up as fast as he had fallen.

And he was clearly angry, much to Kallus’ satisfaction. His pride seemed to be way more fragile than his body, and Zeb must have wounded it terribly by making him look weak in front of the Captain. He charged with all his weight, swinging his bo-rifle left and right and forcing Zeb backwards, teeth bared with the effort of blocking the hits. Zeb dodged a particularly vicious blow and used the kid’s momentum to hit him on the shoulder, then swirled to the left to avoid being cornered against the statue.

Both contenders were breathing heavily, but while the younger lasat’s moves were furious and chaotic, Zeb’s were controlled, precise, economic. It was beautiful to see him in action. Kallus had always admired his fighting style, even grudgingly so when they were still enemies, but he’d never had the chance to actually watch him do it. He had always been either fighting him or fighting with him. This was a completely different experience.

It was so mesmerizing he had even forgotten it was his life on the line.

But Zeb didn’t seem to have forgotten. He was taking the initiative of the fight now, throwing blow after blow so fast his opponent barely had time to parry them. Now it was just a matter of when would he get to force an opening in he other one’s guard.

Kallus saw it at the same time Zeb did: the young one blocked a little too high, leaving his midriff unprotected, and Zeb didn’t hesitate. He zapped his adversary with the end of his bo-rifle and then swept the boy’s legs from under him, making him fall hard on his back.

Before he even had the chance to move, Zeb kicked his bo-rifle out of his hand and pointed his own weapon at the soldier’s neck.

Their heavy breathing was the only thing to be heard for a few seconds, the crowd’s disappointment stunning them into silence. Then, very slowly, the Mayor stood up and declared Zeb’s victory.

“Garazeb Orrelios, you have challenged the court for Alexsandr Kallus’ life, and won. According to the Cor-Ai, his life is now yours.”

“And I say he gets to keep it,” Zeb replied.

Kallus’ sigh of relief sounded almost like a sob to his own ears. He felt Kanan’s hand on his shoulder and saw Hera’s smile out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t stop staring at the scene ahead of him.

Zeb had pulled back from his defeated opponent, turned off the bo-rifle and was searching for Kallus in the crowd. When their eyes met, the lasat grinned widely and started walking towards him.

Hera turned to one of the guards. “I think you can remove his handcuffs now.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, the guard did as she asked. Kallus wasted no time in meeting Zeb halfway and they embraced with fierce desperation, almost crashing into one another, eyes closed and faces tight with intense emotion.

It was over now. They could finally show how scared of losing each other they had really been.

“You did it. You did it,” Kallus whispered, his shaky voice muffled against Zeb’s shoulder.

“’Course I did. Losing you wasn’t an option, ya hear me? It wasn’t.”

They stayed like that for a long moment, ignoring everything around them. Then Zeb stepped back a little, keeping one arm around Kallus’ shoulders.

“Let’s go home,” he said, to him and to the rest of the _Ghost_ crew.

Nobody tried to block them as they made their way to the exit. Zeb stopped when they passed by the council anyway, releasing Kallus to go and talk to the Mayor.

“Please, think ‘bout what I told you,” he asked the old lasat. “About Lira San. Talk to your people, let them decide. I know you have no reason to trust me, specially now, but I swear to you we only came here with the intention to help. Lira San is your best chance to escape the Empire once and for all, and live in peace like you guys deserve.”

“I will,” Pilvo promised. “But now you’d better go.”

Zeb nodded solemnly. “Goodbye, Masaru Pilvo.”

“Goodbye, Garazeb Orrelios. And good luck with that Rebellion of yours.”

“Wait.” Kallus halted them with a hand on Zeb’s forearm when they were about to continue on their way out. The lasat looked at him with a question in his eyes and he returned his gaze to reassure him.

“Just give me a moment,” he said softly, and then turned back to face the whole Assembly.

There was something still nagging at his conscience, something he just couldn’t leave without saying.

“I know an apology means nothing in the face of the hurt you’ve suffered,” he began, modulating his voice to make sure he was heard clearly. “But I want you all to know I deeply regret what I did on Lasan. It was despicable, and I have no excuse for it. Not a day goes by when I don’t wish I could go back and undo it all.”

He took a deep breath to give himself strength. He had no trouble swallowing his pride if it was what it took to do the right thing, but this was not about pride at all. Part of him still felt he was robbing this people of something by not dying at their hands. His words were so much for himself as they were for the lasats.

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that,” he went on. “But what I can, and will do, is to devote the rest of my life to try and stop the Empire. So, if some of you are thinking that this is a defeat, please know that it isn’t. Because I’ll use every single day of that life you’ve spared today to help prevent such a horrible thing from ever happening again. This is my oath to you.”

He turned back quickly, unable to stand everyone’s eyes on him anymore. So many of them were full of resentment, but there were also a few people listening to him with a hint of something else. Like they were tired of hating, and were only waiting for a reason to forgive and move on.

Zeb, however, was looking at him with something like pride in his eyes, and that was enough to loosen the knot in his stomach.

They left the city without another look back.

 

***

 

There was a collective sigh of relief  in the common room of the _Ghost_ when the ship jumped to hyperspace.

The whole crew was there together, all but Hera and Chopper, of course. Zeb had an arm around Kallus to keep him close, the man’s head resting on his shoulder. Ezra was sitting across from them at the dejarik table, and Kanan was preparing some hot drink in the small kitchen.

Zeb’s whole body ached from the fight. The adrenaline that had kept him going through it all was completely gone and he was starting to feel sleepy, but he didn’t want to leave Kallus to go get some rest. He needed the reminder that he was still there, still safe, still alive.

It had been close. Way too close than any of them wanted to admit out loud. He still got shivers every time he thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t won that fight.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Ezra said pensively, his chin propped on one hand. “The Mayor said _‘his life is now yours’_. What exactly did he mean?”

Zeb raised his head, which was resting comfortably against Kallus’ hair, to look at the kid from under heavy eyelids.

“That’s what the Cor-Ai says,” he explained. “If you win the challenge, you get the power to decide over the convict’s life, but also the responsability of ensuring they never commit a crime again. You sort of become their keeper.”

“Oh, so Kallus is what, like, your slave now?”

“No, of course not!” Zeb was fully awake all of a sudden. He sat up straight, shooting a nervous glance in Kallus’ direction. The man was looking at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “It’s not like that. But you’re not gonna let a criminal go that easy, dontcha think? You gotta ask for some guarantee.”

“Anyway, I don’t think it applies outside lasat territory,” Kallus stepped in.

“Yeah, whatever you say, man,” Ezra poked at him, laughing. “As far as those lasats are concerned, he owns your ass. Wait, that sounded better in my head.”

The boy had turned red up to his ears, and was trying to make himself as small as possible in his seat. Zeb was mortified, but when he took a sideways glance at Kallus, the man was covering his smile with a hand, his gaze turned down, and he was trying very hard not to laugh.

The lasat felt himself mirroring his smile almost unconsciously. _‘Ok, fine. It is funny’_.

Kanan returned to the table with a steaming mug of caf in his hand. He patted Ezra’s shoulder with the other one before sitting next to him.

“What I don’t really get is why your people has a law like that,” he said. “It seems kind of dangerous to leave that possibility open, isn’t it? I mean, what happens if you condemn a serial killer and then their mum or dad win the challenge and set them free?”

“I dunno, man, it’s a matter of honor,” Zeb replied. “You’re not supposed to call the Cor-Ai unless you’re willing to vouch for that person with your own good name. I told you, you become responsible for their behaviour. That’s why it’s used very rarely, but it has to be there, because… a death sentence is pretty final, ya know? You gotta let a little room for exceptions. Karabast, what do I know. Maybe it’s just that we want to believe people _can_ change. As someone told me once, we lasats never know when to give up.”

He shared a smile with Kallus as he said those words. Their first private smile, as far as he remembered. It was a very nice feeling.

“I don’t get it either,” Ezra added, his earlier embarassment apparently forgotten. “If your people are so wary of the death penalty,  why don't they ban it altogether?”

“You mean why don’t we change a tradition that’s thousands of years old?”, Zeb answered. “You haven’t met many lasats, have you?”

“I have met enough,” the boy replied cheekily.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to anwser that, brat,” Zeb said with a yawn. He snuggled against Kallus again, pulling him closer with an arm around his shoulders and briefly kissing his forehead.

“So, let me get this straight,” Kanan went on. “You are bound by honor to make sure he never goes into imperial mode again, right?”

“That’s _never_ going to happen,” Kallus protested in a sluggish voice. It seemed the stress of the day was finally catching up with him too.

“Yeah, I know, but hypothetically,” the jedi insisted. “If he’s going to do that, he has to be watching over you for the rest of your life, doesn’t he?”

Zeb thought about it for a moment. “Technically, yes.”

And honestly, he was more than okay with that.

“So,” Ezra said, “from a certain point of view, your life really is in his hands, isn’t it?”

Slowly, Kallus lifted his head from Zeb’s shoulder to look at the lasat with adoration.

“That’s fine,” he answered with a soft smile. “There is no one I would trust more with it, anyway.”

 

 

THE END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! A huge thank you to all of you who have got this far reading this story. I hope it was worth your time.


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